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Re-Thinking Public Diplomacy
Ten Lessons From Its History
Nick Cull
University of Southern California
USIA
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Founded by Eisenhower in 1953
Built from State, Marshall Plan & OWI
Included Film, Radio, TV & Publications
Embassy information centers & libraries
Achievements astonishing
Cold War won FOR the free market but
NOT won BY the free market media…
• ‘Consolidated’ back into State in 1999
• Lost its academic support structure
1: The Practices are OLD
Advocacy
Cultural Diplomacy
State Sponsored News
Psychological Warfare
in Ancient Greece
in the Roman Republic
in Medieval Germany
as old as War Paint
Consistent Lessons:
I. The power of PD as a multiplier
II. The importance of credibility
III. The danger of the unintended consequence
IV. Need for analysis & supply-side study
2. The Term in NEW
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Coined 1965 by Edmund Gullion,
Embraced by USIA
Better than Propaganda or Information
Argument for expansion
Argument for professional respect
NOT used elsewhere till 1990s…
NEW PD goes beyond govt. to include
international CULTURAL RELATIONS
• MOVING beyond the past…
3. The US is Sceptical…
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Feared like a standing army
Justified only in emergency
US prefers commerce/philanthropy
LACKS a major constituency
PLENTY of natural rivals
Often VENUE for domestic struggles.
NEEDED its Advisory Commission
Needs advocates today…
4. The Cold War was Anomalous
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US PD born of WWII & New Deal liberalism
KEY FACTOR threat of Communism
NEVER fully accepted on Hill
Actually a dimension rather than a crisis tool
US PD hostage to the end of Cold War…
Beware of arguments based on War on Terror
Second Chance to build on the best practice
Opportunity to get it RIGHT
5. Its Elements Are Contradictory
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Advocacy, Culture, & News agendas clash
Field & Washington can clash
Contradictory agendas guarantee tensions
Tensions guarantee external spill over into press
VOA divided Journo v. Lang. v. FSO v. Admin.
News, Advocacy & Culture can harm each other
Answer = firewalls (like VOA charter)
Needs advocacy for elements as well as whole
6. It is very ‘Leader Sensitive’
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Newcomer to bureaucratic hierarchy
Responsibilities ‘tread on toes’
Starts from position of weakness
Tendency to attract criticism
Need a special sort of leader
Need direct link to White House
NEED C. D. Jackson or Charles Z. Wick
HAVE USoS w/o management capacity
NEED intervention at campaign level
7. It is NOT separate from
Foreign Policy
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NOT a ‘magic bullet’ to ‘move the needle’
CAN’T save a flawed policy
CAN’T dodge the audience’s agenda
MUST have in-put UP the policy chain
NEEDS a mandated seat on NSC
OTHERWISE cleaning-up after the parade
NEEDS to be figured into policy equation
8. BUT PD is distinct
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Needs career path & valued staff
Needs nurture of special & diverse skills
Original staff recruited ‘mid career’
Needs bank of experience
Needs attention to parallel practices
Needs professional career development
Needs scholarly analysis and advocacy
Needs restored role of Academic support
9. Not all messages are intended
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Excellent work can come from small things
Excellent work can be undone by bad policy
Beware of the unintended consequence
Foreign Students need especial care
Showing AND Telling (case of Watergate)
Need for sustained analysis
Need to think outside the box
Watch for missed opportunities
10. There must be mutuality
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Goal = better relationship
Need BOTH sides speaking
Need BOTH sides respectful
Need BOTH open to being changed
West needs to LEARN to listen
Need PD from THEM to US
Need develop THEIR PD
Obvious role for USC’s Center
The Present Crisis
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Danger of short term-ism
Inadequate structure @ State
Under investment & ‘trade offs’
Spill-over of security concerns
Misapplication of lessons of the past
Iraq 2005 is not Germany or Japan, 1946
Middle East 2005 is not Eastern Europe, 1988
Can always reach for a new generation…
Potential of expanded NED
The Future
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New competitors
New alliances
New opportunities
New players
New methods
New ways of living
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China
Europe
Iran
NGOs
Internet etc
‘Ampersands’
“In this great future, you can’t forget your past…”
Value in studying the history of PD